“I want it, yes.” Ruth reached for the largest piece, careful this time as not to cut herself again. The moment she held it in her hand, she frowned.
“Slippery, innit?” Charlotte said.
Indeed, it was. Ruth lifted the shard to her face and sniffed. There was a distinct scent of rose clinging to it. Then she realized what it was.
Soap.
She rose to examine the other pieces and they too were covered in the slick substance.
No wonder it slipped out of my hand. It was meant to. Someone meant for me to drop my precious patch box. But why? And who?
Her gaze wandered to the door between her chamber and her sister’s. Sophia had lied about asking Charlotte for the shards. Was it because it was her who did this? It couldn’t be. And yet, the clues were all coming together, and they all pointed to the same person as the culprit. Sophia.
Chapter 20
“Kenneth.” His mother’s voice was piercing. Kenneth looked up from his seat on the bench outside the manor.
She was dressed in her red riding habit, a whip in one hand and her leather riding gloves in the other. Riding was one of her favored pastimes and she owned a large selection of riding habits, much more than Kenneth thought any person needed. This one, a red militia-inspired one, always struck him as particularly over the top.
Her face was flushed, indicating she’d just returned from her ride.
“Good afternoon, Mother. Did you enjoy your ride?”
She blinked at him.
“It would have been more pleasant had you been there. As you were supposed to.”
He shook his head, not wanting to get into a discussion with her on the matter.
“Mother, I do not at all recall agreeing to such an outing, and I did tell Lady Sophia I would only go if I were able to, given my schedule.”
“Your schedule consisted of nothing but sitting and waiting for Mr. Sutton, the physician. A duty that could and should have been attended to by His Grace, the Duke of Twilightfare. There was no need for you to attend to Lady Ruth. I saw the wound; it was hardly even a scratch.”
“It was more than that, and it was fortunate we called the physician as he properly bandaged her wound and left salves to further the recovery.”
His mother sighed deeply. “Again, there was no need for you to attend to the girl. You are meant to be spending time with Lady Sophia and yet it seems you find an excuse not to be near her whenever you can.”
He got up and shook his head. “Well, Mother. With all due respect, perhaps my reluctance to keep time with the young lady should indicate my level of interest. None. She and I would make a miserable match.”
“You are not giving her a chance.”
“I have, I dined with her. I felt no connection and to be honest, I was rather bored with the whole affair. I cannot marry a woman I cannot converse with.”
His mother rolled her eyes at this. “Connection. Conversation. I have neither with your father and yet we have a pleasant life together.”
“But that is precisely the problem. You have a pleasant life. I do not want a pleasant life. I want a happy life. I want a life I can share with a woman who understands me, who relates to me. Not one with whom I must resort to civil whiskers at each mealtime. A life filled with all manner of meaningless conversation.”
She scoffed at this. “I do not understand you, nor your father who seems to agree with you on the matter.”
“Agree on what, dear Judith?” The Duke’s voice called as he walked out of the front door. He was in his favored attire, a pair of pantaloons, a white dress shirt under a Pomona green-velvet waistcoat, and a tailcoat. No matter what, his father enjoyed being dressed well.
“Your son informs me Lady Sophia does not please him. He finds her an ill-fit and has no connection to her.”
She looked at her husband with a frown, and her lips puckered up. The Duke shook his head.
“A shame, indeed. Alas, if they are not a fit, they are not a fit. These things cannot be forced.”
“Of course, they can.” She looked around and lowered her voice when she saw two gardeners passing nearby. This was not the kind of conversation that ought to be had out of doors.
